Lessons from the Ironing Board

It’s been a while since I’ve had a new post. I have lots to share, but very little time to share it in… can I get an amen?! But yesterday I had some realizations that are so worth sharing that I’m starting writing before 6am! Yup. That kind of good. At least, I hope that they impact you the way they did me.

So I’m standing there yesterday, in my least favorite place (esp in the summertime) … at the ironing board. I had Klove going on my phone in an effort to keep a positive attitude about my task. But, as it will, my mind began to wander.

I started thinking about this friend of mine whose husband is a blue collar, commission based worker. I was thinking about the times when she has mentioned that times are tough (though she isn’t a complainer, don’t get me wrong!!), and I was thinking, “at least SHE doesn’t have to iron her husband’s work shirts all the time!” Wow. Seriously ya’ll, that thought came to me. And then God put that thought to work. From there, I realized how thankful I should be for ironing those work shirts – because I don’t ever have to worry about how much Cody’s next pay check will be. It is always the same, always consistent, always there to pay the bills. No fear. Wow. We’re really blessed.

And then my mind began to wander to our other blessings – from the clothes, to the Starbucks coffee sitting on the windowsill, to the view out my window looking out over our land, and finally, to the iron and ironing board itself. I began to think about the woman who made the shirt I was ironing. (Hypothetically, of course, since I have no idea where the shirt was made or by whom.) This woman – so thankful for a job to bring in money for her family, to feed her children. How much money did she make when she made his shirt? How much money did it take to pay the bills? How many shirts would she have to make to come close to paying even one of them? How old is she? Does she have a family at 14, or is she old and frail and still having to work?

Yup, ya’ll, my mind was going deep. Have you ever let your mind wander and sort of subconsciously said “ok God just take me wherever…”? Sometimes it’ll take you scary good places. Yesterday, through this mind wandering, I began to realize/remember that God puts each of us where He wants us – for a reason. And while the grass may sometimes seem greener on the other side, we only have to look for a moment at the side we are on to start seeing the millions of wildflowers surrounding us. They aren’t weeds needing to be pulled, they are tiny blessings that God has planted in our path to bless us!

Do I magically like ironing now? No. Am I looking forward to doing more ironing today? Nope. Do I like pulling weeds? No. Do I look forward to pulling the weeds invading my flower beds? Nope. But every. single. chore is because of a blessing, and I need only look beyond my own physical discomfort to start seeing that blessing. What are you complaining about today? And how can you change your view?

Just like my friend should be happy she doesn’t have to iron her husband’s work shirts, I should be thankful for consistency. Just like I should be happy we can afford the clothes, the shirt maker should be happy that her job to make them provides for her family, however meager. Finding joy where I’ve been planted is sometimes difficult. When the rain and the clouds and the wild, crazy children threaten to take over my thoughts, I need only to stop and realize that the rain is a blessing. The children certainly are blessings. And all I really need to do is shift my perspective.

How do you need a perspective shift today? I would love to have you comment and let me know on what things you struggle with your perspective, so I can pray for you.

Blog posts coming soon: Back to School, Sensory Learning for Toddlers, and Lessons from a Volcano!